Commoner Ritual and Ideology in Ancient Mesoamerica

Edited by Nancy Gonlin and Jon C. Lohse

Publication Year: 2007

"The best treatment of the subject matter to date."—Marcello A. Canuto, Yale University

Were most commoners in ancient Mesoamerica poor? In a material sense, yes, probably so. Were they poor in their beliefs and culture? Certainly not, as Commoner Ritual and Ideology in Ancient Mesoamerica demonstrates. This volume explores the ritual life of Mesoamerica's common citizens, inside and outside of the domestic sphere, from Formative through Postclassic periods. Building from the premise that ritual and ideological expression inhered at all levels of society in Mesoamerica, the contributors demonstrate that ideology did not emanate solely from exalted individuals and that commoner ritual expression was not limited to household contexts. Taking an empirical approach to this under-studied and under-theorized area, contributors use material evidence to discover how commoner status conditioned the expression of ideas and values. Revealing complex social hierarchies that varied across time and region, this volume offers theoretical approaches to commoner ideology, religious practice, and sociopolitical organization and builds a framework for future study of the correlation of ritual and ideological expression with social position for Mesoamericanists and archaeologists worldwide.

Contents

Figures

Tables

Preface

This volume begins with the premise that the ritual and ideological lives
of commoners in the Mesoamerican past were rich and vibrant but remain
seriously undertheorized by archaeologists and moderately underrepresented
in the evidence often targeted by data recovery. Using frameworks
such as household and landscape archaeologies, community studies, and...

1: Commoner Ritual, Commoner Ideology

The purpose of this volume is to elucidate the roles of commoners in ancient
Mesoamerica as active ideological agents who participated in numerous
ways in religious expression and ritual practice. The lacunae in
understanding these roles is somewhat understandable given that ritual...

2: Tradition and Transformation

Fifty years ago Robert Redfield divided the educated elite and the illiterate
peasants into two categories when he wrote of the “great tradition of the
reflective few, and [the] . . . little tradition of the largely unreflective many”
(1956:41–42). Although he perhaps envisioned more of a continuum than...

3: Commoner Ritual at Teotihuacan, Central Mexico

Prehispanic societies were integrated by different means. No one can
doubt that ritual was one of the main integrative mechanisms, because
it “links generations, unites men from different descent groups, unites
women from different families, [and] connects the living to their ancestors...

4: Ritual and Ideology Among Classic Maya Rural Commoners at Cop

The most visible remains of Central America’s and Mexico’s Classic Maya
(a.d. 250–900) culture are the stone temples towering amidst jungle overgrowth,
grand palaces, tombs laden with exotic objects, elaborate sculptures,
and hieroglyphs, all of which in some way relate to ancient ideologies...

5: Smoke, Soot, and Censers

Across time and space in Mesoamerica, household ritual behavior has been
viewed as an important facet of everyday life. Research, however, has primarily
focused on elite ritual behavior, with little attention paid to ritual
behavior of commoner households. This chapter examines household level...

Early Colonial period documents in Mesoamerica provide many examples
of expressions of resistance and rebellion by indigenous peoples against
Spanish colonial authorities (Jones 1989; Restall 1997; Terraciano 2001). Yet
within these documents there are occasional references to the discontent...

7: Shrines, Offerings, and Postclassic Continuity in Zapotec Religion

One of the most drastic changes in prehispanic Mesoamerica occurred
around a.d. 800 with the demographic and political decline of a number
of the great Classic period centers: Teotihuacan in Central Mexico; Tikal,
Palenque, and many others in the Maya area; and Monte Alb

8: Altar Egos

Domestic ritual is a defining practice in social reproduction. It can provide
significant points of contrast for distinguishing social identities, such
as ethnicity, gender, class, and religion—defining the “us” as opposed to
the “them.” It can take different forms, including religious and secular...

9: A Socioeconomic Interpretation of Figurine Assemblages from Late Postclassic Morelos, Mexico

The tradition of producing, trading, and consuming ceramic figurines was
of great significance in the religion of Central Mexican Postclassic cultures.
Figurines with images depicting women, men, plants, animals, temples,
and deities have been found in public arenas (e.g., temples) but more notably...

10: Steps to a Holistic Household Archaeology

Mesoamerica offers the archaeologist interested in commoner ritual and
ideology a rich prehistory, a written record of ancient practices, an ethnohistorical
record of contact times, and some modern groups who have
maintained strong continuities with their past. This book’s treatment of...

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